‘A Geek’s Dream Come True’

I am reading a new magazine by O’Reilly Media called MAKE: Technology on Your Time. It’s a quarterly magazine put out for those who love DIY projects and according to the product description, “it unites, inspires and informs a growing community of resourceful people who undertake amazing projects in their backyards, basements, and garages.”

Okay, I’m not too much into DIY projects but I love reading about people who are. In the special issue I am reading (Feb. 15th, 2012), called the Ultimate Kit Guide, I found out that kits are the “gateway DIY project.”

They teach skills, make things more fun, are a great way for parents and kids to share something, and drive innovation. Dale Dougherty, the publisher and founder of the magazine states, “Kits also help create the kind of highly skilled amateurs who drive innovation and economic renewal….We know the next Steve Jobs is out there right now, building kits.”

I just received the premiere issue of Make Magazine from O’Reilly yesterday. Let me just say this mag is a geek’s dream come true. It’s not a magazine about coding. Heck, I’m not sure if calling it a magazine is even accurate. It’s more of a journal or zine (but with higher production values). A geek quarterly, if you will.

If you like DIY projects or know someone who would, this seems like a good gift for yourself or for them.

Do you build things in your basement, garage or backyard or know someone who does? I would love to hear why and how you got started.

Helen Smith is a psychologist specializing in forensic issues in Knoxville, Tennessee, and blogs at Dr. Helen.

My brother gave me a subscription to MAKE last year and I found it evenly divided between projects requiring advanced programming/electronic skills and others that could charitably be described as retarded (a go-kart powered by two cordless drills!). It is quite expensive, and I’d say Popular Mechanics has more useful information at a fraction of the cost. I asked that my subscription NOT be renewed.
What the “Maker” movement may eventually come up with are public workplaces with tools too expensive for most individuals. My own shop has what I need for building small boats, but there are times I would love to have access to a lathe, milling machines, or welding equipment, not to mention mentors skilled in their use.
When I was growing up, most people had a range of skills and were happy to pass them along to an interested child or bystander. Most schools also had wood and metal shop classes even in grade school – I don’t think that is the case any longer.